The Iraq War retrospective Thread

[Thecla]

You still do not accept the things that were found, and are true.

What I don't accept is that anything you cited remotely rises to the level of showing that Iraq presented an immediate threat to the US.

I'm not sure the war was absolutely necessary, but if you look at the history of the Iraqi regime and where it was heading. The prospect of a world with an Iraq ruled by Saddam now beyond UN sanctions is a chilling one.

The reality we got is a good deal more chilling than your hypothetical worries (certainly it is for the people who've died in the aftermath of the US invasion, despite your happy calculations on the supposed lightness of the casualties). But why do you presume, for example, that Iraq would succeed in developing a nuclear weapons program if the US had not invaded when it did, or that no actions to prevent those dangers could've been taken in the future?

I don't minimize the consequences of nuclear terrorism. It's a frighteningly real possibility, and I hope it never happens anywhere. All the more reason why the discussion of any such threats should be based on reality, and not exaggerated as a pretext for war. In my opinion, the US invasion of Iraq has not made the world safer, it's made it a much more dangerous place.

I never needed the litmus test of direct linkage to Al Queda, or a smoking ruin of a nuclear bombing to convince me that the Iraq regime was a danger.

So who's next on your list of potentially apocalyptic regimes to wipe off the face of the earth? N. Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Libya...

And... When that happens... We'll be ice skating in hell.

True, actual honesty from politicians is too much to expect, especially since they'd never get elected if they told the truth. But there should be some fundamental kernel of truth in stating the reasons for going to war, and the use of Iraq's supposed possession of WMDs as a pretext for a war that was largely undertaken for economic and strategic reasons falls short of even my minimal standards for honesty and transparency in humanitarian interventions. But I'm glad to hear it meets yours.